Super Whooper

News has just come in of one of the Whoopers fitted with a satellite-transmitter last summer, which went a bit quiet on us last November. Swan Y6G was caught in the moulting flock on Sandvatn, Myvatnsheidi, north-central Iceland, on 5th August together with 61 other non-breeders. Thereafter satellite data indicated that he was moving along the Fljotsheidi and Adadalur valleys in September and October, but transmissions ceased on 18th November. On visiting nearby Bardardalur on 31st January, Icelandic ringer Sverrir Thorstensen spotted Y6G with an unringed partner, but apparently without his transmitter. Another pair of unringed adults was also present, plus a pair with one young.

The whooper swan satellite-tracking project, which aims to describe the migration routes and flight heights of whooper swans in relation to offshore wind farm sites, is being funded by COWRIE (Collaborative Offshore Wind Research Into the Environment). COWRIE is a registered charity, established to improve knowledge and understanding of the potential environmental impacts of offshore wind farm development in UK waters. It supports a range of projects identified by the COWRIE Environment Working Group as areas where further research is needed in relation to offshore wind. Further information can be obtained on the COWRIE website on www.offshorewindfarms.co.uk/Pages/COWRIE/